President (NTEPS), Joe Avila

Joe Avila served 4 years in the U. S. Army in a main support battalion, operating heavy equipment and supporting the 1st Infantry Division with hazardous materials, such as fuels, oils and solvents. In 1996, he left the military to pursue a degree in Hazardous Materials Management at TSTC-Marshall. Early on, Joe started a part-time job for J-W Power Company as the Plant Safety Coordinator in Longview, TX. He changed his major to safety and health, and completed an AAS degree in EHS from TSTC in 1998. Joe went on to obtain a Completion Certificate from Kilgore College in Prehospital Emergency Care, and was a certified EMT in Texas from 1999-2007. In 1999, Joe started classes at UT-Tyler, and obtained his BS in Industrial Safety in May 2001.

Soon after graduating, J-W Operating Company hired him to be the organization's first corporate safety and health employee. As J-W grew to become one of the largest privately owned oil and gas services companies in the U.S., Joe helped to develop an HSE Department, programs and policies. Since then, he has served in several roles with J-W’s various subsidiaries and worked on numerous projects, always in some form of regulatory compliance, for 22 years and counting. Joe holds numerous certifications, including H2S Master Trainer, PEC Safeland Instructor, National Safety Council First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and Crane Institute of America Overhead Crane Inspector.